The Difference Between You and I
by Faifan15
Summary: Chiharu is about to switch to the regular department at Seiso so she can be on the track team, but when she finds out she's made it into the concours, she has no choice but to leave behind what she wants and face the challenges to come. KazukixOC
1. Chapter 1

_Hello Everyone! This is my first Fanfic. The first chapter here is really short, so I'm sorry about that. But I just wanted to get it out of the way so I could start writing the good parts._

_Basically, the overall story is about a girl named Chihara, who is one of the participants in the Concours. It's set at the same time as La Corda D'oro, but it has a little twist and a few changes. For now, it's just about friendship, love, betrayal, hope, understanding, and competition. It's a one-sided KazukixKahoko, but probably not for too long. I think that I'm going to make it a KazukixOC sometime later. Don't worry, the characters are the same, so I'm not going to make Chiharu a mary-sue and Kahoko an evil jerk. Nopnope, my stories are always very realistic!_

_This chapter introduces Chihara and her friend Kimiko (who isn't a main character). Basically, Chihara faces her first challenge by the end of the chapter, and she needs to make an important decision. So stay tuned!

* * *

_"Eleven point three. That's a new personal best, Takeyama-san." Nakamura-sensei smiled in approval. "I'm amazed at how you still improve every year. I didn't think it was possible." He watched as the crumpled heap of limbs on the floor tried to catch its breath. "No response, huh?" The athletics coach chuckled knowingly. "As soon as you get yourself together, head back to the locker room and shower off. You did a good job today, Chiharu." Waving, Nakamura turned around and walked away.

Chiharu Takeyama leaned all of her weight against the wall as she got up off the floor, breathing heavily and sweating buckets. Using the wall for support, she made her way to the girls' locker room, where she quickly undressed and took a shower in cold water. _11.5, huh?_ She thought to herself. _That's…that's not bad at all. _She wrapped herself in her towel. _Maybe I should be more serious about the track team. Maybe I'm meant to be on it. _She opened up her locker and dug out her school uniform. Although she didn't really have much of a liking towards the ruffled ties, ugly uniform was a small price to pay for being in the Music Department at Seiso Academy.

"Hey, Chiharu-Chan!" Chiharu's best friend, Kimiko, called from the other end of the room, carrying her violin case in her hand. "Come _on_! You know how a high humidity can totally mess up our instruments! And this place is full of _steam!_" Kimiko ran to where Chiharu was. "Plus, I need to show you something. It might change _everything_!" She added.

Chiharu put away her gym clothes and walked outside with Kimiko. "Kimiko-chan, I've been…thinking. About music." She said, as they maneuvered through crowds of music students. _Wouldn't the track team be good for me? I mean…as much as I like the viola…track is something I know I'm good at._ Chiharu thought. _And…I have nothing to show that I'm good at playing the viola._

Kimiko smiled. "You _should_ be." She laughed, obviously knowing something that Chiharu didn't. The two entered the main hall, which was buzzing with excitement. That was unusual, since the Music Department was always very composed.

"What's going on?" Chiharu asked. Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "Anyways, today at track…I beat my previous record. Now I have an _eleven point three._"

"Yeah, _and?_" Kimiko pushed.

Chiharu sighed. "And I guess that I've never taken track seriously before, because running was always something I just did for fun. Because I love to run." She explained. Something up ahead caught her eye. "Wait, why is everyone crowded over there?" She pointed to a crowd of music students, all gathering around the bulletin board.

Kimiko grinned toothily. "You'll see. Go on."

"Now, coach actually thinks I'm good. So…I want to practice more with the team." Chiharu breathed.

Kimiko tilted her head in confusion. "So, what does that have to do with music?" She asked, as they neared the bulging crowd. Kimiko smiled. _Gosh, I can't wait until Chiharu finds out! _ She thought, nearly exploding with excitement.

"I—well, as it is, I don't have enough time to practice for music." Chiharu whispered. "And I know that if I don't practice, I won't be good enough to keep up with the students here in the Music Department. But…I want to take track seriously. I want to compete. And in order to do that, I'll have to switch to the General Ed Department."

"_What?!" _Kimiko's outburst made the whole building go quiet for a moment, and all heads turned in her direction. Kimiko's face darkened as she whispered, "But you can't _do_ that!" She breathed a sigh of relief when the room went back to its loud, unruly buzz, and brushed her hair out of her face. "That's like…that's like giving up _everything._ You know that the Music Department is superior!" Kimiko hissed.

Chiharu shook her head. "Don't say that! You never know." She exhaled. "And besides, I'm only choosing track over music because nothing shows that I'm good at music at all. I mean, for all I know, I could suck." She shrugged. "So I'll talk about it to the principal. It's still early in the year. Anyways, what was it you were going to show me?"

Kimiko's face paled, and she grabbed Chiharu's arm without saying anything. She pulled Chiharu through the crowd, pushing people and making space for them until they were standing right in front of the bulletin board. She tapped her finger next to a sheet of paper that read _Inter-School Musical Concours. _Below the heading was a short list of eight participants.

Chiharu covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about the Concours!" She gasped. She quietly reviewed the list of participants. **"First Year Class A: Shimizu Keiichi". **_A first year student, huh? Good for him. _She moved onto the next one. **"First Year Class B: Shouko Fuyumi".**_ Another one? They must be really good! _It was no shock when she read: **"Second Year Class A: Tsukimori Len". ** _Great. What a snob. _However, her face brightened when she read the next line. **"Third Year Class B: Hihara Kazuki". **_Kazuki made it! That's great…I'll go congratulate him later. _She thought. **"Third Year Class B: Yunoki Azuma".** Her mouth wrenched into a permanent scowl. _What a showoff. _

And then, at the bottom, printed in neat, perfect letters: **"Third Year Class B: Takeyama Chiharu".

* * *

**

_Heyas! So how did you like it?! Don't worry if you didn't; it's not one of my best works. If you liked it, great! Review it and tell me what you thought was good. If you didn't, then offer me some constructive criticism. NO FLAMES, please. 3_

**_Preview for chapter two:_**

**_Chiharu is having a great time, being able to see and interact with her friends more now that they are in the same competition. But what happens when her competitive side gets the better of her and threatens to ruin their relationships? Read on and find out!_**

**_Next Chapter: June 25, 2009 (but hopefully sooner) :3  
_**


	2. Chapter 2

_So, it's 1:15 am here. I'm tired, and I just wrote this. I feel sorry I updated it an hour late (I promised to update it on the 25th...) _

_This chappie's about how Chiharu deals, and some short drabbles about life before the first competition!_

* * *

_It's not that I'm not honored to be chosen or anything,_ Chiharu thought as she swept down the hall anxiously. _I was just so sure about track. I was going to switch to Gen Ed! And you can't really do that if you're not sure about wanting to. _She kept her pace steady, storming through the crowd. _I wouldn't have minded at all if I hadn't gotten an eleven point three on my 100m sprint today. I was going to quit viola! _

"Afternoon, Chiharu." A calm, gentle voice came from behind her. "Where could you be going in such a hurry?" Her muscles tensed up as she turned around. _I know that voice…But I can't let him bother me…_ Azuma Yunoki smiled at her, his icy stare boring a hole through her chest. _Don't do anything rash, Chiharu…_

"Nice to see you, Yunoki-chan. Even though I just saw you second period." She smiled out of politeness and bowed her head graciously, hardly even noticing the two others standing next to him. "I was just on my way to see Kanazawa Sensei." She sensed Azuma's nosiness, so quickly tried to change the subject. "I heard you got into the concours. Congratulations! That's great."

"Yes, but…" Azuma smiled his beautiful, porcelain smile. "You said you were going to see Kanazawa Sensei. What for?" His eyes sparkled as the truth dawned on him. "Is it possible you got into the concours, too? I wouldn't know, because Hihara forgot to check." He said, elbowing Kazuki Hihara in the stomach.

"Yes, I did. I just found out now, and I was going to see Kanazawa Sensei about it. To ask some…questions." Noticing Kazuki for the first time, Chiharu said, "Oh! Kazuki-chan, I didn't see you there. You made it in, too! That's great!" She laughed, giving him a friendly hug. "It's going to be so fun being in the concours together!"

"Yeah, I know! Gosh, I wonder how a viola and a trumpet sound together?" He laughed playfully. "We'll all have to practice together at one point or another, so Kanazawa will have a hard time finding a music arrangement that can make all of our instruments—combined—sound good!" He turned to the girl who stood next to Azuma. "Hey, Chiharu, have you met Hino Kahoko? She's from the Gen Ed department." He gestured to the girl.

Chiharu turned around and grinned. "Hello! I'm sorry I didn't notice you earlier!" She apologized, holding out her hand. "I'm Chiharu Takeyama, in the third year Class B. It must be such an honor to be in the concours as a Gen Ed student!" She said, shaking Hino's and rethinking the whole music/track thing. "I'll have a lot of fun competing against you!"

Hino blushed. "I-I'm not…"

"Hey, so tell me, what instrument do you play?" Kazuki asked. "Piano?"

"N-no, that's not—" Hino began.

"If you play flute, that'll be a shame, because then I'll have competition." Azuma chimed in.

Chiharu smiled. "Lemme guess…Do you play the viola? I play the viola, but…maybe you don't, because most people don't even know what a viola _is._" She laughed.

"Maybe you play violin?" Azuma asked. "That's most popular, besides piano, of course." He chuckled.

"N-No!" Hino shouted, and the three third-year students stopped laughing. "No! This has nothing to do with me!" She insisted. "I have to go!" She took off down the hall, her black Gen Ed uniform standing out among the rest. "Hino-chan!" Kazuki called after her.

"What the—?!" Chiharu wondered, watching her worm through the crowd. "Where's she going?" She asked.

"It's not her?" Kazuki asked; his expression twisted into that of confusion. "Did I say something wrong?" He whispered.

"No, it's her." Another voice came from behind them. Chiharu turned around, and came face-to-face with the teacher she was looking for in the first place—Kanazawa-Sensei. He sighed. "Congratulations to all of you, for getting into the concours. This will be interesting…I believe it is the first time we've had a violist play…" He said, looking directly at Chiharu. "But then again, we don't often have trumpeters play, either. Or…flutes… I suppose you're all special."

"Hey, Kanazawa-sensei?" Chiharu started. "Sorry about this, but I had no idea I'd be chosen for the competition, so I was thinking of switching to Gen Ed just about ten minutes ago. But then I found out that I had made it…so I guess I have to stay, right?"

"You don't _have_ to, but if you're planning to switch out because you don't have the time to practice—now that you're in the concours, you'd probably be better off in the Music Department, anyways." He said.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Chiharu whispered. She looked at the clock. "I have to go practice before break ends. I'll catch you later, Kazuki!…and Azuma." She said, adding the latter quickly.

_Looks like I'm stuck here…_ She thought to herself. _I guess I'm going to have to deal._

* * *

Chiharu sped across the courtyard, her boots slapping against the pavement. _I can't be late!_ She thought to herself. All day long she had been wondering what the meeting about the concours would be about, and now that the moment to find out was here, she was already late. She carried her viola in one hand—just in case the meeting required her to play—and her track uniform in the other, because she had a meet right after.

As she rounded the corner, she noticed a small group watching a group of two people playing in front of the fountain. _Kazuki and…Hino?!_ Chiharu recognized. They were playing the Gossec Gavotte, which was too short and simple for her taste. _What the…?! _She forgot about the meeting and ran to the fountain. As the music grew louder, she realized that the unlikely duo of instruments made the piece sound…good. She noticed that her fellow concours participants, Shimizu and Shoko, were among the few that were watching. "Hey, Shoko, Shimizu!" She whispered as she took her place beside them. "What's going on?"

"I think the Yunoki Guard challenged her to play…so she chose this piece." Shimizu explained. "Kazuki started to play when Hino messed up. It was a very kind act, in my opinion."

Chiharu smiled. "That's because Kazuki-chan's a very nice person."

As the piece came to a close, passerby began to clap for the performers. "That wasn't bad!" Shoko said shyly. "I prefer this kind of cute, sweet performance. It's different, and definitely very interesting." She said.

"How did I play?" Hino asked modestly.

"You…Someone played with you!" One of the girls from the Yunoki Guard accused. "I can't believe you'd stoop so low just to save face. It's unfair that you got someone to help you when you messed up!"

_Oh, gods. _Chiharu thought, eyeing the defensive expression on Kazuki's face. Kazuki stepped in front of Hino protectively. "None of this is Hino's fault!" He said. "I played on my own free will, so…I'm sorry."

Chiharu swallowed nervously, and took a deep breath. "Yeah, and if you want to blame someone for playing because it makes them happy, then it shows what kind of monstrous person you are." She said, mustering up the courage and taking a step forward. "I would have played with her, too, had I gotten here soon enough."

To Chiharu's great surprise, Shimizu stepped forward. "Me, too."

Even Shoko managed a bashful, "I would have as well."

"I've heard the way you play." Came a stern voice. Chiharu turned around. _Len!_ She thought. Len Tsukimori, a second year violinist who was also a participant, stepped forward. "So, before you go around making fun of the way others play, polish up your skills. Otherwise, it's rather funny." He said, coldly, and walked away. Chiharu stifled a laugh.

* * *

"I brought some scores of some really cool pieces. I thought you guys might want to take a look at them_._" Chiharu said, catching up to Hino, Kazuki, and Shimizu at lunch break. She reached into her viola case, and took out different booklets of sheet music. "Here. An arrangement for violin," She said, handing one to Hino, "An arrangement for trumpet," She gave one to Kazuki, "And one for cello." She said, and gave the last of them to Shimizu.

Kazuki flipped through it. "What…are these?" He asked. "It's not classical music. And I haven't even _heard_ of this piece before. Bittersweet Symphony?" He asked curiously.

Chiharu shrugged. "Yeah, it's something I threw together two summers ago. It's a really cool piece. I used to perform it with my string quartet a lot, but I don't play it much now." She smiled. "I made an arrangement for the trumpet, the flute, and the clarinet, so we can all play it together. Originally, it was just for string instruments. Y'see, I'm really into playing more contemporary styles of music, such as jazz, rock, and things like that. It's a great way to get exposed to more types of music." She laughed. "I always thought that if you want to grow up in a shell and only play classical music, then you sure are missing out!"

"This is…interesting. I don't think I've played this style of music before." Shimizu said. "It might be fun to play."

"I'm…I'm struggling with what I'm playing now, so it probably won't be so good for me. It looks hard." Hino said.

"Nonsense!" Chiharu chuckled. "Hey, Hino-chan, can you do a favor for me? I need you to give one of these to Len." She said, taking out another arrangement for violin and giving it to Hino. She turned to Kazuki. "And since you're such good friends with Azuma, could you give this to him, please?" She asked.

"Sure! I'm pretty sure he'd really like it." Kazuki said enthusiastically.

"I sure hope so. And Shimizu, could you just give this to Shoko for me?" She asked, and gave a copy of the clarinet arrangement to Shimizu. "Oh, and all of you, meet me at the practicing rooms as soon as school's out, and tell the others to come, too. I want you all to play this with me."

The rest of the day went by extremely slowly, most probably because Chiharu was so excited for the end of school, when she could finally see how the arrangements worked out. When the last bell finally rang, she practically sprinted out the door and ran all the way to the practicing rooms. _Ooh, but what if nobody shows up? Then what?_ She wondered. To her great relief, Kazuki and Shimizu were there, squinting at their parts and trying to play them. As soon as he saw her, Kazuki said, "Hey, Chiharu-chan! Azuma and Shoko are on their way here, but I think Hino's having a little trouble getting Tsukimori to come." He chuckled.

Chiharu rolled her eyes. "And _why_ doesn't that surprise me?"

"We're here!" Azuma announced quietly as he and Shoko walked through the doorway. He walked up to Chiharu. "I looked over this arrangement and tootled it on my flute a little. It sounds pretty nice. I can't wait until we can all play it together."

"Neither can I, frankly." Chiharu laughed.

"No, Len! Come _on! _Just try it! She really wants you to be here! It won't be the same if you're not playing with us!" Chiharu heard Hino arguing with Len as they walked into the building.

"What difference does it make if I'm here or not? You're a violinist, right? _You_ play with them!" Len retorted.

"Oh, quit being so annoying and just follow me!" She shouted. Moments later, Hino appeared in the doorway, followed by a very reluctant Len. Hino sighed. "We're here. It took some effort, but I did it."

"Yay!" Chiharu said as she finished unpacking her viola. She took out her bow. "When everyone's set up, we'll start, kay?" She waited until everyone had their instruments out and were ready to play. "So, the reason I didn't tell Kanazawa Sensei about this is because I have a feeling he'd tell us to practice for the concours, and that we won't have time for this. And that can't happen."

"But he's right." Len snapped. "This," He said, slapping his music, "This is an insult to music. I can hardly even call it that." He hissed venomously. "That's why I refuse to play it.

"Oh, quit being bitter and play already." Chiharu growled. "Everyone, we'll play now. Start on the pickup. One-and-two-and—" She began to play, quickly followed by the rest of the group. She heard the beautiful, clean, simplistic melody of her composition fill the air, and a smile spread over her face as she tapped her foot to the rhythm. Everyone played so wonderfully—except for Len, who wasn't playing at all. But as they played, she watched Len's angry, rock-like expression change to a lighter, more free-spirited look. Everything was wonderful—and her music brought happiness to Len's heart.

As the piece came to a close, Len's face twisted back, and his sudden outburst scared her. "You called that _music?_ He shouted. "Seriously, you give yourself the melody, when the violin should have it, and—"

"Oh, so you think that just because you play the violin that you're superior to the rest of us?" She shouted back. "Well, newsflash, buddy! Look around you. We're all just as good as you, maybe even better, because we can play with feeling. We have _real emotions!"_

"_I_ play from my heart!" Len said. "_That's_ emotion!"

Chiharu, calming down, smirked. "Yeah? Well, that's interesting, because my music comes from my soul. If you don't want to play with us, then go away." She hissed, and he stood, frozen in shock for a few moments, before sauntering off with his violin in his hand, not bothering to put it back in the case. Chiharu turned around to face the rest of them. "You were amazing. No go—you should practice for the first competition now."

_So, I hope you think Len was still in character! PM me if not... Hope you liked it! Remember, I don't accept flames!_

**Preiview for Chapter 3: **

**The first competition has begun! Ooh, what will she wear, what will she play?! Who will win? Find out!**


End file.
